


Elsewhere

by kittybenzedrine



Series: Timelines [17]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Implied Sexual Assault, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 01:45:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12830706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittybenzedrine/pseuds/kittybenzedrine
Summary: Ren leaves Leo and goes elsewhere, where it'll hopefully take him a while to find her and the little one._____All pieces of the Timelines series are standalones and can be read without context.





	Elsewhere

Ren leaves it all behind when she finds out she's pregnant, without hesitation. Everything. Her home, her family, everything that can't be fitted into a bag and a saddle. Most importantly, she leaves behind Leo. He's going to hunt her to the end of the earth when he figures out she's gone, but she has a plan.

She has a woman register under one of her lesser used aliases for a ship headed to a different continent. The alias is known just well enough that Leo should follow that lead, especially as she trades horses with the woman. Gives the purebred mare in exchange for the dingy gray thing that the peasant woman rides. It's not preferable, but she does what had to be done.

This baby... She won't let him get a hold of it. Won't let Leo shape it into a being of war. This one is his, with no doubt. After so many years trying to conceive with him, and not exactly trying to stop it, it finally happened when she decided she doesn't want children with him. Or anymore at all. She was honest with him for so long, kept good on her promise to stay faithful to him this time even when she caught wind of him giving himself to other women. But that's the past now. She won't give this one up like she did to her previous children, the ones that weren't Leo's.

Ren changes her name to something completely different, something new that she has to repeat to herself over and over to get used to. Beatrice. She hates it, but keeps it. She cuts her hair, styles it in a new fashion. Tries to get rid of the last vestiges of her accent, gifted to her by the shape of her native tongue. She's nearly ready to pop when she comes across the snowy little village hidden up in the mountains, far, far away from anywhere she's called home. Far enough that no one here would recognize the face of a feared warlord like herself. Cold enough that Leo won't immediately look for her here, she hates the cold so much. The folk welcome her with open arms and warm blankets, and by the time she has Rachel, she has a home to call her own.

Their preacher takes a shine to Ren, all smiles and gentle edges. Much like everyone else, strangely enough, he doesn't scorn her or look down upon her for being an "unwed" mother. He is sweet, but Ren turns him down kindly, every time. Tells him she's not ready for another man in her life.

 

 

 

She becomes a school teacher when the babe is about 4 months old. Ren's never had any formal schooling of her own, but she knows enough to teach. The children of the small village learn the alphabet, their numbers. They read, write, learn how to do small sums. Soon, the children will be more educated than their parents.

Rachel gets to be a year old. She's strong, healthy. Beautiful as far as children go. She looks far too much like Leo, though. But without knowing what the father looks like, she looks plenty enough like Ren. Rachel meets her milestones on time, begins to learn to walk, babbles incoherently with her four itty teeth visible through her smiley little mouth. Ren isn't very good at loving her offspring, but she does her best. Rachel certainly doesn't know any better. Certainly doesn't know that her mother cries because sometimes she can only see Leo's face in her.

The preacher, Micha, wears down Ren's resolve after a while. He brings flowers and sweets and fixes up her home between sermons. He doesn't mind that she doesn't believe in any gods, and loves Rachel like she was his own. They wed during the spring, and it's lovely. Internally, Ren knows the marriage is false, because she's already married. But no one here knows that.

She spends peaceful years in the mountains, with her new husband and sweet baby. Their home is barely big enough for three, but Micha wants to make it four. No matter how much they try, Ren remains barren, and she's grateful for that. She does enjoy Micha, possibly even loves him by this point. But she'll sooner smother another babe than raise it. Ren is not built for motherhood.

Such a peaceful, gentle four years. Rachel is three and a half, full of incoherent words and half formed sentence, and sweet as sugar. She has begun to call Micha "da" instead of by his name. Ren does nothing to deter it. Micha is the only father she's ever known, and a damn good one at that. He has her dressed and fed in the mornings when Ren is barely awake, bathes her and puts her to bed in the evenings without so much as a grumble. He never wants to put his daughter down, showers her with affection. He loves them both dearly.

 

 

 

But of course, the peace wasn't going to last. The village grows quiet one afternoon, almost four years on the dot from when she ran. The heavy sound of the hooves of half a dozen horses approaches the mountain village she calls home, and she feels sick. Micha ushers Rachel inside with her mother, and the men gather to greet the ominous looking strangers at the mouth of their village. Ren hushes her class so she can listen, and a chill runs down her spine when the stranger speaks.

"I'm looking for a woman named Renee."

It's Leo's voice, without a doubt. The men tell him that the only Renee they have in a nine year old girl. Ren looks down at the other Renee, one of her students. The girl is small for her age, with sun bleached hair and dark brown eyes. The child is playing a silent game with her half-brother, both trying to stifle their laughs. Ren reassures herself that the villagers only know her as Beatrice. Miss Triss to the children. Bee to her husband.

Leo describes her. "Brown hair, very curly. Green eyes. A little heavy set. Burn scar on her left cheek." Speaks of a few identifying scars on her exposed arms.

It's Micha that pipes up this time, lying through his teeth and saying there's no woman here by that name or appearance. Ren has painted an ugly picture of Leo with few words, merely stating that she left a terrifying man and didn't know what he would do it he found out she was carrying his child. They will defend her, conceal her. Micha will, without a doubt.

Much unlike himself, Leo and his most trusted friends leave without a fuss. Certainly don't try to burn the place down, which he's known to do. All of the children go home as soon as the strangers are gone, and Micha comes in with a pale face. He says nothing, knowing she heard. He only asks with a tight voice that she dress like a preacher wife should.

She dons the bonnet that ties under her chin, that covers her cheeks and has her hair neatly tucked up in it. The long sleeved dresses, plain and unflattering to her form. When she looks in their mirror she doesn't Renee, feared warlord and royalty by association. She sees Beatrice, the meek preacher's wife, school teacher, mother. Her face doesn't look the same to her. Hopefully, if Leo returns, it'll be enough to disguise herself.

 

 

 

Return he does, days later. Alone this time. He tries asking her and other villagers questions, seemingly not recognizing her. She adopts the thick accent of the mountaineers and in broken words of the common language, apologizes for not having the time to talk, she must prepare supper before tonight's sermon. Ren matches her tone and body language to match the of the other villagers, no less but certainly no more anxious than the others. She pulls Rachel along, thankful for her hindsight to put the child's hair in a bonnet as well. The hair would give them away immediately. She's going to have to run soon, again, judging by the way his look lingered on her. Maybe she'll go to another continent this time.

She's cooking when she hears Micha return. Which is strange, because he should be in the church finishing writing this evening's sermon. Ren turns, and her stomach drops. Leo is tall and has to duck to get in the doorway, but when his head comes back up, he looks livid. Her heart races and she feels kind of like she's choking.

He closes the door behind himself and advances. His lip is curled back in anger, exposing some of his teeth. "You really though you could hide forever, Renee? Though I wouldn't find you?"

With the fake accent, she tries to speak, but he talks over her. "Don't try me with that bullshit. Even covered up I could spot you a mile away. So what are you doing now, playing house with a preacher? And who is that little girl? My child?"

"Mine and Micha's child," she spits back, not hiding her malice. She's tempted to throw the contents of the boiling kettle on him, but thinks better of it. She grips her overly sharp chopping knife. "How the fuck did you find me?"

"Oh, it wasn't easy," he says, lets out a humorless laugh. "You were smart about it, I followed so many trails until I found this one. I spent two fucking years on a strange continent until I found out you duped me. I wasn't completely sure that was you earlier, you look different enough, but the children you teach are loose-lipped and easily bribed. They confirmed what you looked like under that ridiculous garb. I am very, very angry with you Renee. Gather your things and bring my child, I'm taking you home." He cracks his knuckles and stares her down.

She refuses. Denies with every breath that Rachel is his. No matter how much he threatens, she won't go. He mocks her, her home, her appearance, and her "husband". She tells him to leave.

He says he's not going without her, and he'll take her by force if he has to. She offers to put her knife through him, and he curls his lip, takes a step towards her.

"Did you ever consider that I left because I was scared of you?" she asks, and watches his expression change. It's a cheap tactic, but if there's one thing he hates, it's his partner genuinely being scared of him. "You fucking scare me, Leo. I'm terrified to be around you, scared of you being around my child. You're unpredictable and unrecognizable when you start lusting after blood. I'm where I want to be. If I wanted you, I'd still be with you. I'm happy with my husband and our daughter, and I don't want to see you again. Leave."

Micha comes in the door, flushed like he's been running as Leo stands in their kitchen motionless, looking into Ren's face. Rachel peers out of her bedroom door. She's probably been watching the whole thing, shit.

"I said leave," Ren repeats, and to her surprise, Leo goes without a fight.

 

 

 

She leaves that night anyways with Rachel sleeping against her chest, abandoning Micha half-dead in their home. Disgusting fuck. For such a good man of the gods, he sure seemed to not have a problem touching his daughter. Ren hopes it's the only time it happened, caught him before he could do anything worse.

"RAPIST" is carved into his back. Though he only touched, that's all he is in her mind. If he doesn't die, he'll be shunned and maimed for his entire life and that's good enough for her.

There's only a few places that she can safely go, so she goes home to her family. Her brother welcomes her back with open arms, helps her clean up her old home and make space for his niece. She goes back to working on the farmstead, teaches her daughter the alphabet and how to make cookies.

Ren only gets two years of peace this time. Leo comes to visit, because her nieces and nephews grew on him and he loves them as his family. He stays in her home, picks at her about her perfect little life in the mountains until she tells him enough that he shuts up. He's not happy when he hears that Micha may not be dead.

"Sure, go hunt him down. It'll give me longer to get away from you," Ren hisses, thankful that Rachel is playing with her cousin's children. "Since you can't seem to get the fucking hint that I don't want you anymore."

He leaves two days later, but she doesn't get the chance to run a third time. This time, he catches her fully by surprise and forces her back to where she used to call their home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> I have [my blog](http://iwillpooponthefloor.tumblr.com) on tumblr, if you'd like to check that out. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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